Fraser re-signs with Stamps, squashing rumours he wanted to play in B.C.

Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald02.07.2013

Safety Eric Fraser said he always wanted to stay in Calgary and play for the Stampeders, contrary to rumours that he wanted to head back to his home town and play for the B.C. Lions. He re-signed with Calgary’s CFL squad on Thursday.

Spurning the opportunity to shop his services around the Canadian Football League — and a chance to perhaps catch on with his hometown B.C. Lions — the veteran safety signed an extension for two years plus an option Thursday with the Calgary Stampeders.

In doing so, Fraser wiped himself off the ever-dwindling list of coveted free agents set to hit the open market Feb. 15.

“I don’t know where all that came from,” Fraser said of the never-ending rumours that had him moving back to the other side of the Rocky Mountains. “I guess people just assumed I wanted to go back to B.C., because that’s where I’m from.

“But that wasn’t the case. I wanted to stay in Calgary all along. It was just a matter of making sure that both me and the club were happy with the deal we worked out.”

After some intense negotiating, the two sides hammered out an agreement that will see No. 7 once again serve as the traffic cop in the defensive backfield.

“I really like the city here,” Fraser said of his reasons for staying. “I just got a job here working with Mark Staffing as a business development consultant. It’s a great city. I love the fans. I love the organization. And with the job market here in Calgary, the prospects for life after football here are probably better than in most cities in Canada.”

Factor in the lower income taxes and the lack of sales tax, and the numbers simply added up for Fraser, a recipient of Central Michigan’s academic excellence award in 2009.

“I’m pleased that Eric has chosen to remain with the Stampeders,” head coach/general manager John Hufnagel said in a news release. “He has continued to grow as a player during his three years here and (we) believe that the best is yet to come.”

Fraser, 25, believes his best is definitely yet to come after a somewhat rocky first season as a full-time starter at safety. By the end of the year, the heady Fraser proved a steady force in the middle of a defence stretched to the limit by a constant flurry of injuries.

In the regular season, Fraser collected 48 defensive tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery one special-teams tackle and two interceptions (including one 61-yard return for a touchdown.)

In three playoff games, including the 35-22 Grey Cup loss to the Toronto Argonauts, the Burnaby native registered 10 tackles.

“I don’t even know if I’m over it,” said Fraser, a first-round (eighth overall) pick of the Stampeders in 2009. “I still see the pictures and the videos of them lifting the Grey Cup and holding the Grey Cup. That still makes me angry.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over — the disappointment of making it that far and playing that many games and not being able to lift the Cup over my head.”

In off-season workouts, Fraser draws personal fire l from the mental image of guys in blue and white celebrating — at the Stampeders’ expense — with Lord Grey’s chalice.

“That’s the motivating factor when I hit the gym, to get that Cup over my head,” he said. “It’s not too heavy, but you know the work that it takes to get there is a lot.”

SHORT YARDAGE . . .

After seven CFL seasons, Stamps receiver Arjei Franklin announced his retirement Thursday from professional football. Franklin, 30, cited the strain of another six months from his wife and son Miles, 2, in Windsor, Ont. as his primary reason for calling it quits “It’s a tough decision,” Franklin said. “But a clear decision I had to make.” Throughout a career split between Winnipeg and Calgary, Franklin played 94 regular-season games and recorded 165 receptions for 1,952 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned 17 punts for 128 yards and served as the holder on place-kicks for much of his time in Calgary.

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Fraser re-signs with Stamps, squashing rumours he wanted to play in B.C.

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